The present invention relates to tobacco, and in particular to a process for changing the character of tobacco extracts and tobacco material.
Popular smoking articles, such as cigarettes, have a substantially cylindrical rod shaped structure and include a charge of smokable material, such as shreds or strands of tobacco material (i.e., in cut filler form), surrounded by a paper wrapper, thereby forming a tobacco rod. It has become desirable to manufacture a cigarette having a cylindrical filter element aligned in an end-to-end relationship with the tobacco rod. Typically, a filter element includes cellulose acetate tow circumscribed by plug wrap, and is attached to the tobacco rod using a circumscribing tipping material.
Tobacco undergoes various processing steps prior to the time that it is used for cigarette manufacture. As such, cigarettes usually incorporate tobacco cut filler including certain amounts of processed reconstituted tobacco materials. Certain processed tobacco materials are cut rolled and cut puffed tobacco stems. Certain reconstituted tobacco materials are manufactured from tobacco stems, dust and scrap using papermaking processes. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,117 to Kite, et al.; 4,421,126 to Gellatly; 4,962,774 to Thomasson, et al. and 4,987,906 to Young, et al; as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 710,273, filed Jun. 4, 1991.
Oftentimes, tobacco is chemically or physically treated to selectively remove certain components therefrom. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,117 to Kite, et al., and 5,025,812 to Fagg, et al. and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 484,587, filed Feb. 23, 1990 U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,775.
It would be desirable to provide a process for efficiently and effectively altering the chemical nature or composition of tobacco; and in particular, to provide a process for removing selected components from tobacco extracts or other types of tobacco materials.